The One That Got Away
by I. heart. Fnick. N. Figgy
Summary: For Devon, Ritchie really is the one that got away. She has missed him every day since he left, especially since her new boyfriend is slightly less than perfect. Gabby is all she has left, but obviously she can't fill the gaping hole that he left...
1. One Yesteryear

**A/N: Okay, so I realize that Taking 5 wasn't the most popular movie, but I LOVE IT! So here's a fanfic that I mostly wrote for myself. Unless other people read it. And like it. You know, I'm here to please. ( :**

**One**

**Yesteryear**

"So what are we gonna do now?" Devon asked, swinging her legs over the side of the stage.

"Well, I heard of this hot new boy band…" Gabby, her best friend for _all _intents and purposes suggested. The two looked at each other silently and then burst into laughter.

"Oh yeah? So that's how it is, then?" a third, unexpected voice inquired.

"Ritchie," Devon breathed. Gabby smiled at her friend's uncharacteristic speechlessness.

"Yeah, that's my name," he laughed, sliding in next to Devon, who, in turn, glanced at Gabby suggestively.

"Okay, okay," Gabby surrendered. "I know when I'm not wanted." She jumped up and ran quickly off of the stage.

"Listen, Devon," Ritchie began anxiously. "I can't… I have to leave now. It's not up to me anymore… not how it used to be."

"I know, Ritchie," she whispered. "I… I know."

"But I don't wanna lose touch with you. Text me?"

She smiled softly and nodded. "Promise."

The couple traded cell phones and numbers, but even as they did, a feeling of dread settled over Devon. She couldn't help but feel that this was it. This was probably the last time she would ever see her beloved pop star. The one who had become more than her idol. The one that got away.

Ritchie accepted his phone back and stopped to stare into Devon's eyes. He cupped her cheek in his hand. He smoothed her hair. He kissed her cheek. And, finally, he kissed her lips. It was sensational, like nothing she had felt before. Even better than the first one. And then, just like that, he was gone.

**Four Months Later**

Devon smiled nostalgically as her ring tone, 'Kidnap My Heart', sounded through the tiny bedroom.

"Answer that, will you?" Danielle, Devon's controlling older sister, shouted. "I'm trying to wash my hair!"

"No amount of scrubbing is going to get the ugly out of that," she muttered quietly. "Hello?"

"DEVON!" Gabby's mousy voice shouted from the other line. Devon pulled the phone away from her ear.

"What is it, Gabby?"

"Nothing," she said, quieter. "I'm just hyped up. You know, lots of Coke. Good stuff."

"Aww, man, Gabs. You know you're not supposed to have Coke!" Devon whined. "And you're coming over tonight. I bet we won't get any sleep at all."

"You know, Devon, you need a boyfriend," Gabby piped up.

"What are you talking about?"

"You're starting to sound like my Gramma."

"Ha ha," Devon laughed sarcastically. "I don't want a relationship. I'm still not over…"

"Ritchie," Gabby offered. "See? You can't even say his name!"

"Whatever."

"Either move on, or get in touch with him. You still have his number, don't you?"

"Yeah but… I don't even know if it's the right one anymore. And Ryan would kill me…" Devon said.

"Ryan? As in your possessive EX boyfriend? Emphasis on the EX."

"You _did _put emphasis on the ex," Devon argued, plopping down on her soft bed. She stared at the off-white walls of her room, still covered with pictures of her high school obsession: 5 Leo Rise.

"Is he still talking to you? Are you still talking to him?" Gabby demanded.

"I wouldn't call it talking…" Devon admitted.

"Devon, do you need me to-"

"I can handle him by myself, Gabs. I'm a big girl," Devon lied.

"She's in there," Devon heard Danielle saying dismissively. She knew that voice. She knew those slow, deliberate steps. She knew who was inching closer and closer to her door. And she, Devon, was scared.

"I have to go Gabby," she said, and without waiting for a reply, hung up.

"'Sup, Dev?" Ryan waltzed into her room.

"Nothing much," she said, fighting to keep the edge of hysteria out of her voice. "You?"

"Well, I was just in the neighborhood, and I figured I would stop by and ask if you were ready to take me back yet," he explained. "So?"

"Fat chance," she answered, as always. And, as always, he turned his back to her to lock the door.

"That's not a good answer," he said.

"Well it still _is _my answer," she fired back, losing control of her voice as he stepped closer to her. He lifted her off of the bed by her thin shoulders.

"Well, then, you know the drill. No screaming, or I go in there and take care of your stupid sister, too," he commanded. Devon just nodded sadly. This was the way it always went. Sometimes she thought about letting him "handle" Danielle, too, but then she thought that that would be the same as stooping down to her pathetic level.

Ryan pressed her back against the wall and slapped her hard across the face. She whimpered softly. He slapped her again, but this time she fell to the ground, wrapping her arms around her knees. "Get up," he ordered. She did.

He kneed her swiftly in the stomach, and she cried out. He clamped his hand over her mouth. "What are you doing? I said no screaming!" And then he threw her into the wall again. "Get up," he said again, but this time Devon was too weak to oblige. "Fine. I'll be back in a few days. I'm going on vacation with the fam. That will give you a little more time to consider my… proposition."

He left then, slamming the door behind him. Devon could hear his jeering laughter echoing in her head for moments after he was gone. She regained her strength eventually, but she stayed on the floor, wrapped in her fetal position, until her phone sounded again.

"Ugh, Gabby!" she shouted into the receiver. "I told you I had to go!"

"This isn't Gabby," the voice on the other end replied.

"Ritchie?" Devon gasped.

"One and the same," Ritchie answered, and Devon swore she could hear the smile in his voice.

"I haven't heard from you in-"

"I know," he cut her off. "And I'm sorry about that. Please believe me when I say that we have been extremely busy since the high school…"

"I do," she said.

"Good. I just wanted to call and let you know that we're opening for some famous star or another in your town. And it would be awesome if-"

"When?" she interrupted.

"Umm… Thursday, I think."

"Perfect," she agreed, remembering that Ryan said he would be gone for the next "few" days.

"See you there, then?"

"Yeah. I'll be there."

"And Devon?"

"Yeah?"

"Have you been crying?"

"Yeah, Ritchie."

"Care to explain?"

"Maybe some other time."

"Oh… all right."

"See you, Ritchie."

"See you, Devon."

"And Devon?"

"What?" she laughed.

"I missed you, too, Ritchie. More than you know."

**A/N: Okay, so review if you liked it. Or if you didn't. I'm open to anything. Gracias. ( :**


	2. Two Miserable at Best

**A/N: Thanks for all of the review… I really didn't expect that many. Here's the next chapter. The following ones will hopefully be up quicker. (Sorry about the wait.) Chapter title borrowed from Mayday Parade. I recommend you listen to it. Like, now. ( :**

**Two**

**Miserable at Best**

Devon covered her flawless face in concealor, foundation, and blush before wiping it all off angrily to begin again. She had to be perfect. There was no room for flaws because she was going to see him tonight. Tonight, she was going to see Ritchie.

Her heart fluttered nervously as she reapplied the makeup- this time slightly less. She couldn't help but think that this was a perfect time for Ryan to go out of town. Maybe, just maybe, the world _wasn't_ against her. She had curled her blonde hair to perfection, and now she watched herself in the vanity mirror as she pulled it back into an elegant twist.

And then she thought about it. That wasn't her. She pulled the band out and let it fall around her shoulders. Perfect.

"Devon, are you doing anyth- What is that?" Danielle wondered, staring over her younger sister's knee-length red dress. "Where are you going in that thing?"

Devon half-smiled as her eyes glanced down at the white sash around the middle, complementing her white heels perfectly. "Concert. Maroon 5."

"Sounds great. Mind if I tag along?" she asked.

Devon just stared. "Seriously?"

Danielle laughed. "No. Just be back before curfew."

"You do know that you aren't really my mother, right?"

"Whatever."

Devon simply smiled. Nothing could bring her down from this natural high. She would see him, the one she had been waiting for, and all of her suffering would be worth it.

**Two Hours Later**

Ritchie's eyes scanned the crowd anxiously. What if she wasn't there? What if she had been pulling his leg when she said that she had missed him? But he had been serious; he hadn't stopped thinking about her.

Finally his eyes landed on the familiar short, skinny blonde. She stood out like a sore thumb, of course, but that was what he loved about her. Her dress hugged every inch of her perfect body, and her smile was as radiant as in his memories.

She seemed to have spotted him, too. Great, because he totally needed for her to catch him staring right at her and think that he had become some psycho freak. She smiled brightly and waved. He returned the smile.

"And now, the moment you've all been waiting for: Give it up for Five Leo Rise!"

Ritchie and the others skipped onto the stage, carrying their various instruments. Holding his gaze on Devon, Ritchie reached for the microphone. "This one is for a very special girl," he said.

The song that they played that night was old. But that didn't mean that every girl between the ages of twelve and nineteen didn't know all of the words by heart; they did. And so did Devon.

**After the Show**

"Devon," Ritchie breathed. "It's really you."

"Yeah, of course it's me," she grinned. "Who else would I be?"

He laughed and threw his arms around her waist, picking her up to spin her in the air. "Ritchie!" she whispered, giggling. "People are staring!"

"Let them stare," he challenged, putting his fist to his chest theatrically. "I care no longer!"

"You haven't changed at all," she noted.

"Neither have you, Dev," he said, returning to his normal voice.

"You have no idea," she disagreed, looking down at the white parking line beneath her.

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing. I mean, something, but I don't want to talk about it now."

He shrugged. "If it makes you happy."

"Yeah. So, are you gonna offer to take me out for ice cream or not?"

He chuckled. "Devon, would you like to join me for some delectable frozen yogurt?"

She shook her head. "No."

"What?"

"No. Frozen yogurt is disgusting. I say we go for some ice cream."

"Ice cream, then," he offered.

"Yes," she beamed. And for the first time in four months, Devon was happy.

**A/N: I'm really sorry you guys. I know that this chapter is very short, and trust me, it won't happen again, but this is all I have to say at the moment. The next one will be the one where Ritchie finds out about Ryan, so it's bound to be really long. Haha. For now, review! Thanks! **


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